Paintings in the Musee d'Orsay [Hardcover]

Serge Lemoine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 7, 2004

Situated in the heart of Paris, the Musée d'Orsay boasts the greatest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art in the world, unparalleled in its diversity and quality. Since its opening in 1986 in a spectacularly renovated train station, the museum has welcomed more than 50 million visitors to its collection of works by Bouguereau, Courbet, Renoir, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Redon, Whistler, Gauguin, and other artists of the mid-19th century to the early 20th century.

In this deluxe, oversize volume, the museum's director, Serge Lemoine, and his team of curators and specialists examine this extraordinary collection, ranging from the primacy of Academic painting through the shock of Impressionism to the rise of modern art. With 830 full-color illustrations of masterpieces by some of the world's best-loved artists-from Van Gogh's Bedroom at Arles to Cézanne's Apples and Oranges-this is the definitive guide to paintings in one of the world's most popular museums. The exhaustive scope of this book and the richness of its imagery make Paintings in the Musée d'Orsay an essential addition to the bookshelves of all lovers of Impressionism and of great art. AUTHOR BIO: Serge Lemoine is director of the Musée d'Orsay and a professor at the Sorbonne. He has published numerous books, articles, and essays, particularly on abstract, Constructivist, and Dadaist art. He has also organized many exhibitions in France and elsewhere.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Much of the work is familiar, and the layout is by-the-numbers for a catalogue, but having a world-class museum between two covers trumps almost all other considerations. Since its opening in 1986, Paris's Musée d'Orsay has been as much about its infrastructure—it was created out of the shell of the Gare d'Orsay, a spectacular Left Bank rail station—as about its collection of major 19th-century masters and masterpieces. Presented in 830 color reproductions, some nearly full 9 5/8"×11 7/8" page-size, the works need not compete with the museum's decor nor fight against the odd and uncongenial galleries fitted within it; thus viewers get a new sense of the collection's range and reach. Sorbonne professor and Musée d'Orsay director Lemoine divides the collection into six distinct periods, beginning in 1848 ("Ideal or Reality"), and moving through impressionism, history painting, "Construction and Color," pictorialism, symbolism and the many nascent movements "After 1900." Nearly 70 short essays by multiple scholars provide context for works by Cézanne, Van Gogh, Seurat, Manet, Monet, Courbet, Renoir and many more, mostly French, artists. No matter how well one thinks one knows them, having them all in one place is a delight.
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About the Author

Serge Lemoine is director of the Musée d'Orsay and a professor at the Sorbonne. He has published numerous books, articles, and essays, particularly on abstract, Constructivist, and Dadaist art. He has also organized many exhibitions in France and elsewhere.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 768 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; First Edition edition (December 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081095608X
• ISBN-13: 978-0810956087
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 9.7 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #318,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book...but it could have been better, January 11, 2005

By 

Valentino (Zadar, Croatia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Paintings in the Musee d'Orsay (Hardcover)

The concept of this book is very good: minimum text - maximum pictures. All art monographs should follow the same principle.

The book is split into the chapters dealing with dominant artistic trends of the time, and subchapters dedicated to the most important artists within each trend/movement.

The brief introductory essays are well written and help understand background behind the movements or artistic groups whose most representative works are displayed on the subsequent pages.

If one hasn't seen d'Orsay's magnificent collection in person, they'll be amazed by this lavishly illustrated monograph.

In most cases there is one plate per page, sometimes two and very seldom three. However, what I don't understand is 2 inches wide margin around the reproductions (???) Why? Why they were not printed at least an inch larger at all sides?

Besides, though even the best repros can't do justice to the original, many pictures could have been much better. Don't get me wrong - majority of reproductions is of good quality, but there are those (I'd say one third of the total number) which are considerably lighter than the originals and/or have rather compressed values - Manet's Olympia being the most obvious example. (I've visited d'Orsay two months ago and the paintings are still vivid in my memory).

However, these remarks shouldn't stop you from purchasing the book, since monsieur Lemoine in this monograph included works of many great but usually neglected artists, those which one can very rarely (or never) see in the books on art of the 19th century. There are enough books on Impressionists to fill all the world's garbage landfills many times over (and thousands upon thousands more are printed every year), yet it is so hard to find one monograph on the likes of Cabanel, Delaunay, Fromentin, Bonnat, Laurens, Carriere, Levy-Dhurmer, Hammershoi etc etc.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor printing, October 10, 2009

By 

M. Aichele (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Paintings in the Musee d'Orsay (Hardcover)

The contents of the book are as advertised, but the quality of the book and printing left a lot to be desired. Some of the pages were printed too large around the corners, and were then just folded into the book before they wrapped it up. A few of the pages were even torn, which detracts from the book. Of course for a book of this price, I expected a much more professional printing and packaging. But like I said, the actual content of the book is great, as described.